Muse Precure, Start: Dash!
by MadCow77
Summary: While their sisters are occupied with being school idols, Yukiho and Arisa secretly lead a double life as new Precures who must not only protect the world, but also ensure that nothing stands in the way of their sisters and the upcoming Love Live tournament!
1. Pretty Cures Start!

**Chapter 1: Pretty Cures Start!**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Love Live: School Idol Project or Pretty Cure. This work of fiction is purely for entertainment purposes only and not for profit. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or OC Precures from other fanfictions, is purely coincidental.

* * *

><p>"Hurry up and transform-chichi!" the strange little brown fox-like creature said.<p>

"Hurry before the Storm Apostle comes-popo!" another white dog-like creature said.

"He's going to be here soon-chichi!"

"Hurry up and transform before he gets here-popo!"

Kousaka Yukiho and Ayase Arisa blankly stared at each other, both rendered speechless by the strange turn of events that had befallen them today.

Before the girls could say anything, a strong breeze swept between them, rustling up a small dust cloud that coalesced into a dark, cloaked figure who stood before them. He took a moment to scrutinize the girls before turning his attention to the two small furries. "Found you at last."

* * *

><p><em>Earlier today<em>….

Yukiho stared at her phone with wide, open eyes. It was a message from her friend, Arisa. There was going to be another Love Live, bigger and grander than the one held last year. She held her phone close to her chest and thought, _I wonder if my sister already knows about this. I'll make sure to ask her tonight_.

Before the day was over, Yukiho decided to make one last stop before going home. She walked up the stairs that led to the town's local shrine, where she wanted to make a prayer and wish her sister and her friends luck. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw a familiar girl at the shrine about to make a wish.

"Arisa-chan!"

The girl turned around and smiled happily. "Yukiho-chan, what are you doing here?"

"I got your message, so I thought to come here and wish my sister luck."

Arisa giggled. "I had the same thought as well!"

"Then let's make our wish together!"

"_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!_" They both bowed, and then turned to leave the shrine.

Yukiho had taken only a few steps before noticing something falling from out of the sky. She looked up and squinted her eyes. "What's that?"

Arisa looked at where Yukiho was pointing and also saw something. Apparently two small plush toys were falling towards them. As the two objects got closer, the girls instinctively reached out.

"Chichi!" Yukiho caught hold of a small, brown fox-like creature.

"Popo!" Arisa caught the white dog-like one.

"You saved us-chichi!"

"We're saved-popo!"

Yukiho and Arisa couldn't believe their eyes. The small plush toys could speak! And not only did they speak, but they proceeded to persuade the girls to "transform" before something called a Storm Apostle arrives.

And when aforementioned apostle finally arrived, the girls were in for a greater shock.

"Quickly transform into Precures-chichi!"

"Transform and fight off the Storm Apostle-popo!"

Questions began to flood Yukiho's mind. Things were moving too fast for her to process, and she was more confused than ever. "Wait, who are you? Why can you talk? What are Precures anyway?"

"Why do you want us to fight?" Arisa added.

"We're fairies-chichi."

"The Storm Apostles are searching for Heart Fragments-popo."

"We must not let them find the fragments-chichi."

"Hurry up and transform into Precures-popo!"

"Stop! You two aren't making any sense!" Yukiho was even more confused now. Storm Apostles? Heart Fragments? They were throwing more confusing terms than clarifying them. "Start over again. First, who are the Storm Apostles?"

"They're very bad people-chichi!"

"They seek to turn the world into an eternal maelstrom of storms and chaos-popo!"

"That's why they must not get their hands on Heart Fragments-chichi!"

"Ahem." The dark, cloaked figure cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the girls and the fairies. "I'm… like… standing right here, you know."

"Aaah! It's a Storm Apostle-chichi!"

"Beware of him-popo!"

The apostle sighed, then turned his attention to the two girls. "Look, I'll make you a deal. This has nothing to do with you, so why don't you just hand over those two to me and we'll go our separate ways and forget this ever happened."

Perhaps it was the manner that the apostle spoke, or perhaps she was moved by what the two fairies had just said, but Arisa reacted by holding on to the white fairy even tighter and stepped further away from him. "You're going to hurt them, aren't you?"

Yukiho responded in kind. "Then there's no way we're letting you have these two!"

The apostle shook his head and sighed again. "If that's your choice, then I shall have to play rough."

The apostle raised his hand in the air. Wind started to blow, starting with a breeze but quickly turning into a raging gale centred on the apostle's outstretched hand. Satisfied that he had collected enough power, he unleashed a strong gust of wind at the girls, sending them tumbling backwards.

Yukiho crashed into one of the shrine's pillars, then Arisa slammed into her.

Satisfied by his display of strength, the apostle sneered at the girls. "Now, will you give those two up?"

"Never!" Yukiho grimaced in pain as she slowly got back up to her feet, then helped Arisa stand. "We're not going to let you hurt these two."

"Quickly transform-chichi!" The little brown fox leapt out of Yukiho's arms and, in a puff of pink smoke, turned into a clamshell-styled phone. Yukiho quickly caught it in her hand.

"Me too-popo!" The other fairy also transformed while in Arisa's arm.

"What do we do?" Yukiho stared at the fairy-phone with a bewildered look on her face. Things kept getting stranger and stranger for them.

"Push this button-chichi!"

"Press here-popo!"

Doing what they were told, the two girls found themselves holding hands and raising their respective fairy-phones up.

"Dual star halation!"

A brilliant column of white light engulfed them both. The apostle quickly shielded his eyes and averted his gaze as the girls transformed into Pretty Cure.

"Dashing forward, full of love and courage, Cure Brave!" Yukiho was now clad in a pretty pink and black dress. Her short, tomboyish hair lengthened slightly and was tied into a pair of short twin ponytails.

"Shining brightly with the light of hope and determination, Cure Star!" Arisa wore a pretty silver and blue dress, her long yellow hair tied to one side and decorated with a star-shaped hairband.

Together, they struck a pose. "Servant of chaos, return from whence you came!"

"Eh, what now?" Yukiho was even more confused and surprised at the same time. "What just happened?"

"We did something strange, didn't we?" Arisa sheepishly fidgeted.

"Enough of this!" The apostle channelled another powerful gust of wind towards the Precures, who instinctively leapt out of the way. Brave ended up on the roof of the shrine, while Star landed several yards away, near the entrance of the shrine.

"_Horosho!_" Star looked up at Brave, amazed by their powers.

"Let me show you the true power of a Storm Apostle!" The apostle held up a small, glowing pink piece.

"That's a Heart Fragment-chichi!"

"Be careful-popo!"

"Nazuuma, come!" The fragment grew dark, as if the apostle was sucking the very life out of it. Streams of black particles gathered around the fragment, engulfing it in shadows. The apostle then hurled the swirling, shapeless mass of black energy at a collection of tools nearby. The affected items – a mop, a pail, a broom and some rags – started animating and growing in size. Soon, a large monstrosity, an amalgam of the aforementioned tools, stood before the two Precures.

"Nazuuma!" It screamed as it threw a punch at Brave with its mop fist. Brave quickly leapt aside as the giant mop smashed into the roof tiles. It then took a swipe at Star using its broom-arm. Star held out her hands and stopped the oversized broom short, although it took all her strength to avoid being shoved backwards by the impact.

Brave leapt off the roof and landed on the Nazuuma's outstretched broom limb. She then dashed towards what would be considered to be its head, and gave it a swift kick.

"Nazuuma?!" The creature lost its balance and fell on its side with a heavy thud while Brave jumped off and landed with a graceful roll, ending up beside Star.

"Do it now-chichi!"

"Quickly hold hands-popo!"

"Eh, I don't know what that's gonna do, but okay." Brave looked to Star and nodded towards each other, and then held hands.

"I sing the song of Courage." Brave held out her free hand, gathering tiny specks of golden yellow energy as she spoke.

"I sing the song of Hope." Star held out her free hand, gathering tiny specks of sparkling silver light.

Together, they focused their collected energies into a ball of glowing light. "Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… _PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!_"

A colossal beam of silver-gold light blasted the Nazuuma, completely engulfing the creature in its brilliance.

"Nazuuma!" The creature let out one final cry before turning back into the pile of tools that it once was. A dark shadow was lifted, and out of it came the pink Heart Fragment.

Star quickly caught it with her outstretched hands. "_Horosho!_"

"It seems that I have underestimated you, Precures." The apostle stared at the two girls with menacing eyes. "We will meet again."

With that, he disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Now please explain everything to us properly." Yukiho looked at the two fairies sternly. They had all gathered in Yukiho's room and were having some snacks, courtesy of Yukiho's parents. They own a very nice sweets shop, after all.<p>

"I'm called Matcha-chichi!"

"And I'm Paka-popo!"

"We're fairies from the Windy Lands-chichi."

"We've come to ask for your help-popo."

Yukiho and Arisa listened to their tale intently. Matcha and Paka had come from their world to seek pieces of Heart Fragments that had been scattered throughout the city and surrounding countryside. These fragments hold great power that will help them rebuild their land. However, a group of powerful enemies known as the Storm Apostles also seek these fragments. Coming from a world known as the Dark Maelstrom, they seek to drive the world into chaos.

In order to fight these apostles, Matcha and Paka can lend their powers to the girls, allowing them to transform into the legendary warriors called Precures. In order to prevent the Storm Apostles from destroying both this world and the Windy Lands, they must search for the Heart Fragments and get to them before the apostles do.

Yukiho and Arisa looked at each other. They were no longer confused, but were still overwhelmed by the fairies' story. It was certainly a lot to swallow at once.

"I understand what you're asking, but it's a lot for us to accept right away. We still have school and other responsibilities, you know." Yukiho stared solemnly at her fairy partner, the brown fox Matcha.

"But it sounds like a very interesting experience, doesn't it?" Arisa picked up her fairy partner, the white dog Paka and hugged it in her arms.

"Arisa, are you sure about this?"

Arisa nodded. "Absolutely. You saw what that Storm Apostle did. I couldn't bear to see him hurt Matcha and Paka."

"Arisa…" Yukiho was surprised at Arisa's resolve. "Well, if that's what you think, then alright. We'll do it. We'll become Precures and help you find the Heart Fragments!"

"Hooray-chichi!"

"Thank you so much-popo!"

The two fairies rejoiced, jumping and dancing on Yukiho's bed. Arisa smiled at this wonderful act. "_Horosho!_"

"Shhh… Keep it down, you two." Yukiho nervously looked towards the closed door of her room. "I think my sister just got back."

After finishing their snacks, it was time for Arisa to leave. She took Paka with her, and bade Yukiho and Matcha goodbye. "See you tomorrow!"

"Goodbye, Arisa-chan! Goodbye Paka-chan!"

* * *

><p>After Arisa and Paka had left, Yukiho went back into her room with Matcha. "Looks like we're gonna be partners for a while."<p>

"I'm glad to be working with you-chichi!"

Yukiho smiled at her fairy partner, and then started to think about their meeting earlier today. It was quite an unusual day, and all of a sudden she had become a Precure. Then she remembered something she had to do, and got up to leave her room. "I'm just going out for a while. Wait for me here, okay Matcha?"

"Okay-chichi."

Yukiho went over to her sister's room and opened the door. Kousaka Honoka, her older sister, was sitting at her bed and staring out through the window. "Hey sis!"

"Yukiho!" Honoka turned around to greet her younger sister.

"I heard there's going to be another Love Live. You're entering, right?"

Honoka kept quiet with her head down.

"You're not?"

"Not you too, Yukiho," Honoka replied, flustered by her sister's response.

"You should." Yukiho was confused. It was her sister's dream to enter and win Love Live. _What happened to her now_?

Yukiho felt disappointed. She didn't want to see her sister make a decision that she would regret again. She remembered her sister's sadness last year when they failed to participate. Whatever problems were ailing her sister, Yukiho wanted to help. So she tried to think of some words of encouragement, but she was never good with such things. She's always the scary and serious little sister, and so she decided to roll with that attitude.

"Arisa's looking forward to it, you know," Yukiho said sternly to her sister. "Furthermore, do you know when it kicks off?"

Honoka simply shook her head.

"March next year. If everything goes well, Arisa and I are going to enter Otonokizaka in April. You know what that means, right?"

Yukiho turned to leave, satisfied that she had imparted just enough information to let Honoka think it through by herself. She went back to her room, looked around for her fairy partner and then let out a smile on her face when she saw that Matcha was fast asleep in her bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well, I never thought I would find the inspiration to write a Love Live and Pretty Cure crossover story. Stranger things have happened. I plead temporary insanity for this piece.


	2. Camping Trip

**Chapter 2: Camping Trip**

"Are you sure there is a Heart Fragment all the way out here?" Kousaka Yukiho quietly whispered at Matcha, who was currently in the form of a clamshell phone. Ayasa Arisa was holding on to a clamshell phone of her own, which is in fact Paka in disguise. They were both seated at the back of a train. Their sisters, Kousaka Honoka and Ayase Eri respectively, along with the other members of µ's, were seated further up front.

"Yes, definitely-chichi."

"I can feel it too-popo."

"Should we get off at the next stop?" Arisa looked at Yukiho for an answer.

"I guess so." Yukiho then turned to call out to her sister, but Honoka was fast asleep so she spoke to Eri instead. "Eri-san, we're going to head out at the next stop."

"All right, Yukiho. Take care of Arisa for me, alright? And don't work too hard on your school project, you two."

"Okay, sis," Arisa replied. The school project was made up, of course. The two groups going out on the same train together was such a coincidence that they had to make up some excuse to tell their sisters.

At the next stop, Yukiho and Arisa proceeded to get out of the train. They waved goodbye to their sisters and left. As the train started moving again, Yukiho cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "Remember to wake my sister up, okay?"

She wasn't sure if anyone in the train heard her, but she saw Eri waving back through the window.

* * *

><p>"We've been walking for hours. Are you sure it's this way?" Yukiho slashed her way through some light underbrush using a machete while Arisa followed behind.<p>

"I'm sure of it-chichi."

"Yukiho, I'm tired. Can we rest a bit?" Arisa sat down on the thick roots of a nearby tree and took a sip from her water bottle.

Yukiho took out her lunch box and sat beside Arisa. "Those two are hopeless. We're getting nowhere like this. In any case, let's eat."

"Mmmm, _horosho_!" Arisa's eyes lit up as soon as Yuhiko opened the lunch box. She had brought a two-person serving of spaghetti in tomato sauce and topped with onions, mushrooms, green peppers, sausages and bacon.

"You like it? I thought to try something a little different than usual for this trip."

Before they could enjoy a single bite, however, they felt a breeze. That breeze slowly built up into a gust of wind, and then a gale. The lunch box was swept off Yukiho's lap, landing several feet away, its contents unceremoniously strewn all over the ground.

The strong gale coalesced into the familiar figure that they had encountered the other night.

"Hello, little ladies," the Storm Apostle greeted.

Yukiho and Arisa looked at him, their mouths agape. Yukiho's expression quickly changed from shock to anger. "You… you ruined our lunch!"

"Oh my, who cares about such things? Besides, aren't you looking for… this?" The apostle held out a small pink glowing fragment.

"It's the Heart Fragment-chichi!"

"We must get it back-popo!"

"Not so fast!" The apostle clutched the fragment tightly in his hand. "For the humiliation that you two have caused, I, Windgeist, shall teach you a lesson!"

Using the power of the heart fragment, Windgeist channelled its energy into the contents of the girls' fallen lunchbox. The noodles animated on their own, growing in size and gathered into a floating mass of writhing tentacles.

"Quickly transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up and do it-popo!"

Yukiho and Arisa nodded at each other, and then held each other's hand. "Dual star halation!"

"Dashing forward, full of love and courage, Cure Brave!"

"Shining brightly with the light of hope and determination, Cure Star!"

"Servant of chaos, return from whence you came!"

"Nazuuma!" The creature took a swipe at the Precures with one of its appendages. They quickly flipped backwards to avoid the attack. The Nazuuma followed up by squirting a jet of thick and sticky tomato sauce at them. The Precures leapt into the air to avoid the sauce, which splashed onto the ground with a dull splat.

Brave propelled herself forward, her fist clenched and ready to deliver a punch. The Nazuuma responded by swinging another one of its long, noodle-like appendages in her direction. She quickly shielded her face as she was slapped aside and tumbled into a thick bush.

Star leapt onto a low tree branch and then launched herself towards the floating monster. She spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to its side, but her attack simply bounced off the soft noodle body. It responded by quickly spinning around, causing several loose noodle threads to lash out and hit her, sending her hurtling through the air.

"Star!" Brave cried out as she jumped after her. She quickly caught Star in her arms and the both of them landed safely.

Windgeist chuckled. "This is so much fun. Nazuuma, destroy everything in your path!"

As if given power by the apostle's words alone, the Nazuuma grew even more limbs. It started thrashing about, cracking bark and branch as it rampaged through the forest. More trees fell to the Nazuuma's wrath, and then it noticed something up in the nearby hills. It turned and thrashed its way towards the object of its attention.

Brave's eyes widened in fear as she realized the creature's new target. "Isn't that where Honoka and the others are having their training camp?"

"It's heading towards Eri-chan and her friends? No way!" Star shook her head after realizing the possible implications of the situation.

The two of them quickly rushed the Nazuuma, intent on stopping it in its tracks as quickly as possible. It fired another jet of tomato sauce at the pair, and in their reckless haste they failed to dodge. Now trapped under a sticky pile of red gunk, they struggled to free themselves but were unable to get out of the snare.

The Storm Apostle laughed. "It looks like your time's up, Precures. Nazuuma, finish them!"

"Nazuuma!" The creature combined several appendages into a single, large noodle tentacle and then slammed down onto the Precures. When it lifted its enormous limb to examine the result of its handiwork, it saw both Precures sprawled inside a crater.

"Well, that was easy." Windgeist shrugged as he hovered beside the Nazuuma to observe the results.

"It's… not… over… yet." Brave struggled to her feet, and then helped Star up.

"Why do you continue to fight?" The apostle stared at the Precures, amazed at their resolve and yet disappointed that he had not won yet. "Don't you see that your situation is futile?"

"We won't give up so easily!" Star clenched her fist and stood tall against the advancing Nazuuma.

"We're not going to let you hurt any of our friends!" Brave was now brimming with defiance.

The Precures could feel a surge in strength, as if their confidence and determination helped boost their powers. Instinctively, they held hands and then charged towards the raging monster together, their free hands curled into a fist.

The Nazuuma fired a more powerful stream of thick, tomato pasta sauce, but this time the Precures simply punched their way through. They rapidly closed in and then simultaneously delivered a double punch, sending the Nazuuma tumbling back and crashing into the forest bed.

"Now's your chance-chichi!"

"Quickly finish it-popo!"

The Precures nodded towards one another and continued to grip each other's hand tightly.

"I sing the song of Courage." Specks of golden yellow energy gathered around Brave's outstretched hand.

"I sing the song of Hope." Tiny particles of sparkling silver light danced around Star's open hand.

"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… _PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!_"

"Nazuuma!" Struck and engulfed by the silver-gold beam of light, the creature cried out in anguish, and then turned back into a pile of spaghetti. The small Heart Fragment fell at their feet.

"I won't forgive you for this!" Windgeist disappeared after that.

* * *

><p>The weekend was soon going to be over. Yukiho rolled over in her bed, wondering how her sister is doing.<p>

"Say Matcha… what are we going to do with these Heart Fragments?"

"Once we've collected them all, we can return to the Windy Lands and use the power of the Heart Fragments to restore our home-chichi."

"Right… you mentioned that before." Yukiho lay on her bed, staring dreamily at the ceiling. Then she heard a creak coming from outside. Her sister must be home!

She quickly got up, opened the door and greeted her sister. "How was your trip, sis?"

Honoka grinned and gave her the thumbs up. "We're ready for Love Live!"


	3. UTX Days

**Chapter 3: UTX Days**

Kousaka Yukiho and Ayase Arisa both stared at the modern, high tech building that is the UTX academy. A large digital screen is displayed prominently over the main entrance, featuring the school's idol group A-RISE.

"The Heart Fragment is… here?"

"_Horosho!_"

"Wait a minute, Matcha!" Yukiho was flustered at the thought of stepping foot into such a prestigious school. "Just how are we supposed to go in there and look for the Heart Fragment?"

"Can't you just walk in-chichi?"

"No, we can't just walk in," Yukiho countered. "This is the most prestigious school in Akiba! The most famous school idol group, A-RISE, is there! We can't just waltz in like that!"

"Then why don't we sneak it-popo?"

Arisa giggled at the thought of sneaking in. "We could wear their school uniforms and pretend to be students there. It sounds like fun!"

"No it's not!" Yukiho shook her head, wondering what had gotten into those three all of a sudden. "What happens if we got caught?"

"We could say we wanted to get A-RISE's autograph!"

"You're really serious about this, aren't you, Arisa?"

Arisa nodded. Yukiho looked at Matcha and Paka. They both nodded as well, displaying the widest grin that their faces could possibly make. Yukiho sighed and gave in.

* * *

><p>Yukiho was surprised at her own resourcefulness. Somehow they had managed to procure fitting UTX uniforms for the both of them, and had managed to get inside the main entrance. The first obstacle was to get past the automated gating system. UTX students flashed their student identities via NFC-capable phones at the gates, which then let them through. Yukiho and Arisa had no such credentials.<p>

"What do we do?" Arisa looked at Yukiho with hopeful eyes.

"When no one is looking, let's jump over the gate!"

"I… I don't know if I could do that."

"Sure you can, just follow my lead!" Yukiho glanced around her. There were not many students around at the moment, but still enough witnesses to foil her plan so she waited. After a while, A-RISE's latest song started to play on the large display outside, so students all rushed outside to watch the music video.

"Now's our chance, Arisa!" Yukiho dashed towards the gate and athletically leapt over it with ease.

Arisa nervously shuffled towards the gate. "I… I can't do it, Yukiho-chan."

"Hurry up before someone sees us!"

They heard footsteps. Someone was running into the building.

"Quickly!" Yukiho reached over the gate and grabbed Arisa's hand, and then somehow she miraculously managed to haul her over the gate. They quickly rushed inside and slipped around a corner before they were spotted.

While catching their breath, Yukiho peered around the corner to see who it was. She nearly let out a gasp in surprise. On the other side of the gate, her sister Kousaka Honoka was panting, completely out of breath. Kira Tsubasa, leader of A-RISE, had dragged Honoka into the building with her. Shortly after, Koizumi Hanayo and Yazawa Nico, both members of µ's, followed.

* * *

><p>Yukiho and Arisa found themselves wandering down corridors aimlessly. Whenever they encountered students, they smiled and waved. Despite their age, they seemed to have blended in somewhat.<p>

"This is going nowhere at all," Yukiho exclaimed in frustration. "Are you sure this is the way, Matcha?"

"I'm sure of it-chichi!"

"But I think it's that way-popo!"

Yukiho facepalmed. "Now it's in two places, isn't it?"

"Umm… why don't we split up and search for the fragment instead?" Arisa asked.

"Good idea-popo."

"Let's do that-chichi!"

"Fine, let's do that. I'll go upstairs. Arisa, you can go that way."

Arisa nodded in response.

"Be careful, alright? If you run into any trouble, call me at once!"

* * *

><p>Arisa nervously made her way through a crowded corridor. A class period was over, and students were pouring out of their classrooms. Feeling uncomfortable in such a crowd, she looked around for a quick way out and spotted the entrance to the ladies' restroom. She immediately made a beeline to it.<p>

The restroom was currently empty, and Arisa took some time to admire how clean and spotless UTX restrooms were. After what seemed like an eternity, she gathered the courage to leave the restroom. Before she could step out, however, the door opened and her eyes widened in shock when she recognized the girl who walked in.

"Arisa?" Toujou Nozomi, a good friend of Arisa's sister and also a member of µ's, stood before her.

"Umm… ah…." Arisa struggled to find an excuse, but nothing came to her mind.

Nozomi looked over her shoulder, then satisfied that no one else was coming, she closed the door and smiled. "The cards predicted I would come across something interesting today." She held up a tarot card of the Star.

"Well… err… I got lost."

"I'm sure you have your reasons to be here, wearing the UTX uniform and all." Nozomi gave Arisa a reassuring look. "Don't worry about it, I won't tell Eri."

"Th- thank you, I suppose."

"You shouldn't be here on your own, you know. Did you come with a friend? Yukiho, perhaps?"

Arisa simply nodded.

"In times like these, you should be together with your friend. The strength of your friendship is an important bond that you must cherish. Alone you are weak, but together you potential can be limitless."

Arisa wasn't sure how to respond to that non sequitur, so she remained quiet.

"It looks like the coast is clear now. I'll be taking my leave now. You should hurry back to Yukiho as soon as possible."

Nozomi left the restroom first, then Arisa after waiting for a minute. She then looked around, wondering which way to go.

"Paka-chan, I don't suppose you know where Yukiho and Matcha are, do you?"

Paka made a sort of grunting sound, as if concentrating hard. "I think they're this way-popo!"

* * *

><p>Yukiho stepped into one of UTX's auditoriums. It didn't seem like anyone was around at the moment. She walked past the rows of empty seats and made her way towards the stage.<p>

"Do you sense anything here, Matcha?"

"There is a fragment nearby, I think-chichi."

Matcha was pointing towards the backstage area, so Yukiho climbed onto the main stage and made her way to the back. There were plenty of props arranged neatly along the walls, mostly stand-up pieces of terrain such as trees, bushes and even a large M4 Sherman tank. It doesn't look like this auditorium is used for musical performance; A-RISE must have another auditorium of their own elsewhere in the building.

"Over there-chichi!"

Yukiho walked over to where Matcha indicated. It was a large, open wooden trunk. Piles of small stage accessories, lighting equipment and props were stored within. Slowly sifting through the items, something pink caught her eye. Lying near the bottom of the pile lay a tiny glowing Heart Fragment. _How did this end up here_, she thought. _Perhaps someone thought it was a special effects prop and kept it here_.

"You've found it-chichi!"

Yukiho pocketed the fragment and dusted herself. "Let's go find Arisa and Paka."

She walked back out to the stage, only to find a man sitting in one of the empty seats. He clapped his hand slowly. "Congratulations, you've found a fragment. Now if you would kindly hand it over."

"Windgeist!"

"At your service." He bowed gracefully at the mention of his name. "But pleasantries aside, I'm in a sort of a hurry so if you please."

"There's no way I'm going to hand the fragment over to you without a fight!"

"Oh? If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get." The apostle beckoned Yukiho to come at him.

Yukiho hesitated. Matcha was quivering in her arms.

"Aren't you going to transform into a Precure and fight me? No? Oh right, you can't transform without your partner. That's just too bad, isn't it?"

Yukiho defiantly raised her hands and clenched her fists, still prepared to put on a fight if she had to.

The Storm Apostle snickered. "Oh come now, do you expect to fight like that?"

"Let me guess. You cannot summon a Nazuuma without a Heart Fragment, can you?"

Windgeist did not answer.

"Then here I come!" Yukiho leapt down from the stage and charged straight at the apostle. He was taken aback by her sudden aggressive move, and simply stood there and shifted his stance, preparing to defend himself. Just as she was about to make contact, she suddenly veered away and ran towards the exit.

"Fools! Tricks!" Windgeist quickly shot a gust of wind at Yukiho, knocking her off balance but she managed to make a defensive roll and stumbled out of the auditorium. She quickly recovered and ran down the corridor as the Storm Apostle gave chase.

Yukiho fled past a number of corridors, leaping down stairwells and trying her best to avoid crowded areas. She was about to reach another flight of stairs and leap down when she nearly ran into Arisa and Paka.

"Yukiho!"

"Arisa, run!" Yukiho grabbed Arisa's hand continued running. Arisa nearly stumbled and fell, but managed to balance herself and keep up with Yukiho's pace.

Despite gaining the lead in distance, their luck ran out as they reached a dead end. A large glass window stood before them, and they could see the rest of Akihabara outside. They were still several floors up, so the window was not going to be their way out.

Windgeist caught up to them before they could backtrack. "It looks like the end of the road for you two."

Before they could respond, the Storm Apostle unleashed a powerful gust of wind. His attack sent the two girls crashing through the window and out into the open. Gravity soon took its toll, and the girls found themselves falling towards the city.

"Quickly transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up before we hit the ground-popo!"

Under a freefall, it was difficult for the two girls to lock hands but out of sheer determination and luck, they managed it.

"Dual star halation!"

The two Precures landed on their feet, cratering the street in the process. They quickly leapt back onto the rooftops, eager to avoid witnesses. Once they were satisfied with their location, they turned and looked back at the UTX building. Windgeist was still standing at the broken window, waving his fist menacingly at them.

He seemed to utter something, perhaps a curse, and then disappeared.

Yukiho finally let out a sigh of relief. "Let's go home, Arisa."

"Did you find the Heart Fragment?"

"I sure did!"

* * *

><p>The following day, Arisa had come to Yukiho's room to watch the first round of the Love Live tournament. Yukiho's mum had just brought some sweets and tea for them to enjoy.<p>

"Isn't it almost time for the performance?" Arisa glanced at the time.

"You're right!" She quickly regained her vigour and grabbed her red notebook computer, laying it open on the table.

"I'm so nervous!" Arisa peered at the screen anxiously. "Do you think they'll do alright?"

Yukiho looked at Arisa and smiled. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

The first group to perform was A-RISE. Their song, "Shocking Party", was very energetic and catchy, garnering a significant number of up votes from viewers. Even Yukiho and Arisa was impressed by the performance.

Next up, µ's. "Door of Dreams" was a quite a contrasting piece compared to "Shocking Party", but it had a beautiful quality of its own that put a smile on the girls' face. Seeing their sisters perform live was a very uplifting experience for both of them, and they knew how important this performance was. It was the preliminaries for Love Live, where only four groups in each region will be selected for the next round of the tournament.

"So who are you gonna vote for?" Yukiho teased Arisa.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Arisa smiled back.

And so they both cast their votes and called it a night.


	4. Deep in Akihabara

**Chapter 4: Deep in Akihabara**

It was the end of the school day for Kousaka Yukiho and Ayase Arisa. Instead of going home, they both rushed to the nearest Internet café in Akiba. The results of the Love Live preliminaries was out, and they were both anxious to know the results.

"Oh, let's hope they make it!" Arisa clenched both hands and held them close to her chest.

"Let's see…" Yukiho began scrolling through the list of winners on the web page. "First is A-RISE." She shrugged. "Well, that's to be expected."

She continued scrolling down. "East Heart. Then… Midnight Cats."

"Oh, this is getting intense." Arisa couldn't help but nervously fidget about while Yukiho scrolled down to verify the fourth team.

And then they both turned and hugged each other with joy. Their sisters and µ's made it to the next round of Love Live!

* * *

><p>After leaving the café, the girls decided to call it a day and head back home. They did not get to carry out their plan, however, because Matcha and Paka both started to chatter excitedly.<p>

"It's somewhere here-chichi!"

"I can feel it too-popo!"

"It must be nearby-chichi!"

"Hurry up and find it-popo!"

"Slow down, you two!" Yukiho held up the clamshell phone that was Matcha in disguise. "What is it?"

"It's a Heart Fragment-chichi!"

"We can feel it-popo!"

Yukiho felt like another long, eventful day was going to happen. "Alright. Which way is it?"

* * *

><p>Yukiho and Arisa walked on and on, but no Heart Fragment was to be found.<p>

"Isn't it this way-chichi?"

"I thought it was that way-popo."

"But I felt something over there-chichi."

"I must have just been your imagination-popo."

Yukiho was getting visibly frustrated with the two fairies. Arisa simply smiled and tried to reason with her friend. "They're so cute when they get all worked up like that, don't they?"

"You're being too nice to them. Hey you two, are you really sure there's a fragment somewhere around here?"

"We're sure of it-chichi!"

"It's just a little difficult to find-popo."

Yukiho was not satisfied with their answer at all. "Maybe we could like… ask for directions or something?"

Acting out her frustration, she walked up to a random street vendor. "Hey, I don't suppose you have any Heart Fragments for sale?"

The indian merchant gave Yukiho a blank stare at first. Then, in a very obvious indian accent, he spoke. "No, but I have motherboards. Graphic cards. A-RISE DVDs. µ's action figures. Posters of your favourite idols. But no Heart Fragments."

"_Horosho!_" Arisa stared excitedly at the action figures of her sister.

"I didn't know they made those," Yukiho said, staring at the little plastic doll of her sister Honoka. It was a Nendoroid-style figure – big head, small body, cute pose. It didn't seem well-polished though; there were visible seams on the plastic and poorly coloured edges. Then it dawned to her. "Hey, wait a minute, these are bootlegs, aren't they?"

"I don't sell the footwear. But these are good quality product. All made in China."

Yukiho facepalmed. "This is getting nowhere." She grabbed Arisa's hand and started to walk away, pulling a protesting Arisa along.

"You don't want special A-RISE bikini poster?" the man continued to advertise, but the two girls were already on their merry way.

* * *

><p>They continued to trudge on. As they ventured deeper into the heart of Akiba, someone caught Arisa's eye. It was a small girl walking along the sidewalk, coming towards them. She had short, black hair tied into a side ponytail. She wore a white jacket and orange dress, with a red handbag slung across her body.<p>

"Hey Yukiho-chan, isn't that Nico?" Arisa was, of course, referring to Yazawa Nico, another member of µ's and also a third year like her sister Eri.

"Eh, I don't think so. She's too small." The girl was indeed quite small, perhaps even as small as a pre-schooler.

"You're right. Though she does look a bit like her."

The little girl became aware of Yukiho's and Arisa's attention. She stopped and stared back.

Yukiho struggled to find something to say. Arisa quickly said the first thing that came to her mind. "Um… I don't suppose you know where-"

"You're fans, aren't you? Or paparazzi perhaps?"

"Eh, what now?" Puzzled, Yukiho and Arisa stared blankly at each other, and then back at the little girl.

"I knew it! In any case, you're not going to find Super Idol Nico so easily!" With that, the little girl turned around and sprinted away before the girls could react.

"What… was that all about?"

Arisa simply smiled and shrugged.

* * *

><p>"It's definitely here-chichi!"<p>

"I can feel it nearby-popo!"

"I feel something else too-chichi!"

"Be careful, it's not safe-popo!"

It didn't take long for the girls to realize what the fairies had meant. The Storm Apostle Windgeist appeared before them, clutching a pink glowing Heart Fragment in his fingers.

"Ah, I didn't think I'd be so lucky to find this fragment and the two of you at the same time."

"That belongs to Matcha and Paka. Give it back!" Yukiho commanded.

"I think not. I still have that revenge business between us to attend to." The apostle drew power from the fragment and cast it on the first random object that caught his attention – a six-foot tall scale model of a pink ZAKU mobile suit. It soon grew into a three storey-tall robot with single baleful glowing eye trained on the two girls.

"Quickly transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up-popo!"

The girls quickly held hands and transformed. "Dual star halation!"

"Dashing forward, full of love and courage, Cure Brave!"

"Shining brightly with the light of hope and determination, Cure Star!"

"Servant of Chaos, return from whence you came!"

"Nazuuma!" The ZAKU activated its back-mounted jets and lifted off the ground. Soon, it was hovering in midair. It continued to glare menacingly at the Precures. They prepared for the worst, taking up a defensive stance to withstand whatever attack it had in store but in the end, no attack came. Finally, it turned off its thrusters and landed.

"Stop fooling around! Destroy the Precures immediately!"

"Nazuuma!" The creature swung a spiked ball and chain at the Precures. They both raised their hands to counter the weapon, but the force of the blow sent them reeling. It then proceeded to take swipes at both girls with sharp claws on its left hand. Brave back-flipped several times to avoid the blades and to keep her distance while Star leapt into the air, intent on landing a kick.

The Nazuuma swung its ball and chain again, and this time it hit Star and sent her crashing into the wall of a nearby shop.

"Star!" Brave charged at the Nazuuma, ducking under one of its horizontal swipes and then leaping up to throw a punch to the chest, creating a small dent in its armour. For that, she was rewarded with a knee to her midsection and a swift backhand slap that sent her tumbling away.

"It's surprisingly strong," Brave commented as she got back up on her feet.

Star nodded in agreement as she crawled out from the rubble.

"Give it up already," the apostle taunted. "There's no way you can beat me. Nazuuma, crush them once and for all!"

"Nazuuma!" The creature extended its right hand towards Star, as if reaching out to her. She quickly realized that she was staring down the barrel of five guns – one for each fingertip. She instinctively rolled aside as machine gun fire strafed the area, barely missing her by a hair.

"We're not gonna lose!" Brave ducked past a volley of bullets, rolled towards the Nazuuma, took a short leap into the air, and then slammed down hard on the street with her fist, cratering the ground underneath them both. The Nazuuma stumbled as it tried to maintain its balance.

Star quickly followed up by rushing the Nazuuma and executing a sweep kick, completely knocking it off balance and sending it crashing into another nearby building.

"Finish it off now-chichi!"

"You can do it-popo!"

Holding each other's hand tightly, the Precures gathered their power.

"I sing the song of Courage!"

"I sing the song of Hope!"

"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!"

Overwhelmed by the Precure's attack, the Nazuuma made one final wail of anguish before turning back into the scale model ZAKU. As the dark shadow lifted, the Heart Fragment fell and landed at Star's feet.

_Thwarted once again_, Windgeist thought to himself before disappearing.

* * *

><p>The day was almost over. It was getting dark, so the girls quickly rushed to get home.<p>

"Such a busy day." Yukiho cupped her face with her hands as they both walked through the streets of Akiba.

"Well, at least we collected at another fragment." Arisa smiled to herself.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Don't you remember? µ's made it to the nationals."

"Oh you're right! Tonight I'm gonna give my sister a big, hearty congratulations!"

"Hey, about that… isn't that them over there?" Arisa indicated towards a small square a short distance away, where about eight girls had gathered.

"You're right, Arisa. But they look like they're in the middle of a discussion. Let's not bother them now."

"Okay. Besides, I need a bath. Then practice!"

"Practice what?"

"Singing, of course!" Arisa was suddenly bursting with energy.

"Haha, of course. To be good enough to join µ's when we enter Otokizaka next year." Yukiho shared Arisa's enthusiasm, and together they made their way home without further incident.


	5. The Oncoming Storm

**Chapter 5: The Oncoming Storm**

"School trip!" Kousaka Yukiho yelled at the top of her voice once she and Ayase Arisa have stepped out of the plane with the rest of their classmates, much to their chagrin.

"It looks like we'll have a zoo, a park and an island trip as part of our itinerary." Arisa was reading the school trip's itinerary while comparing it with a local tourist brochure of the Miyazaki Prefecture.

"But there's no beach outing this year!" Yukiho pouted. "I'm so envious of my sister. She gets to go to the beach on her school trip in Okinawa."

"At least your sister gets to go on a trip. My sister has to prepare for a publicity event for µ's."

Once the girls and their classmates were outside the airport, they were assigned groups and then boarded a bus to head for the hotel where they would stay for the duration of the trip. The weather was nice and sunny, so the girls were very excited about visiting the various locations in their itinerary.

The first day of the trip went rather well, and soon it was night time and the girls had gathered in the hotel's lounge with the rest of their classmates for one last social gathering before retiring to their rooms.

"So tomorrow we'll be visiting the zoo, but I really can't wait for our free day where we can go visit the Ocean Dome instead!" Yukiho was staring at the brochures that Arisa had collected excitedly.

"I want to do some shopping during our free day."

"I think we should have enough time for both Ocean Dome and shopping that day," Yukiho reassured.

The girls continued to chat with each other, and with the rest of their classmates, for a little while longer before it was time for them to dismiss and return to their rooms. They said goodnight to each other and went to bed in high spirits.

* * *

><p>In the morning, the weather took a turn for the worse. Strong winds howled outside while Yukiho, Arisa and their classmates all huddled inside the hotel lobby.<p>

"Aww, why did it have to start raining?" Yukiho looked out from the lobby dejectedly.

"According to the weather report, we may get hit by a typhoon if things continue the way they are." Arisa was checking up on the weather online using her phone.

"A typhoon? What about Okinawa?"

"It seems like they're affected as well."

Yukiho sighed. "I hope my sister and her friends are doing okay. They're probably closer to the storm than us."

"Well, all we can do now is wait and see."

All activities ended up being cancelled for the day. Strong winds continued to blow outside while a heavy downpour of rain swept the city, so the girls ended up staying indoors all day long.

* * *

><p>The next day, the storm continued, even stronger than the day before.<p>

"The rain isn't going to let up, isn't it?"

Arisa checked the weather report on her phone. "Most likely no."

"I bet my sister is yelling at the sky now, telling the storm to go away. Maybe I should to." Yukiho was pacing back and forth in their room, feeling somewhat irritated at the thought of having to spend another day indoors. "What a lousy school trip this has become."

* * *

><p>On the third day, the storm continued to persist. Everybody was feeling very tense, though Arisa tried her best to stay calm and hope for the weather to clear soon. Checking the weather report didn't help at all. Later, the teachers in charge of the trip made an announcement that disappointed them all – the airports had delayed their flights back due to the weather.<p>

"My sister' flight is also delayed," Yukiho declared after getting off the phone.

"But what about their event this weekend?" Arisa was concerned that µ's wouldn't be able to perform with only six members.

"According to sis, they've already made arrangements for that, so they'll be fine."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"Now if only this storm would let up." Yukiho looked at her fairy companion, who was currently in disguise. "Hey, Matcha, you're a fairy right? Can't you work some magic or something and do away with this storm?"

"We cannot do that-chichi."

"You must let nature take its course naturally-popo."

In tiny poofs of magical smoke, Matcha and Paka returned to their natural fox- and dog-like appearance respectively and sat on the table in front of the two girls. They peered out through the window, watching the water pouring down the window panes endlessly.

"Something doesn't feel right-chichi."

"What?" Yukiho looked at her fairy partner in surprise.

"It's the storm-popo. Something feels off about it-popo."

"You mean a Storm Apostle could be involved?" Arisa also looked out the window, concerned about what the fairies may be implicating.

"If it's that Windgeist fellow, I'm gonna beat the crap out of him for giving us so much trouble!" Yukiho held out a clenched fist threateningly at the rain.

"I think I feel a Heart Fragment-chichi!"

"I feel it too-popo. I think I feel more than one fragment-popo!"

Both Yukiho and Arisa widened their eyes in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely-chichi!"

"There's no doubt about it-popo!"

* * *

><p>Sneaking out of the hotel and braving the storm, Yukiho and Arisa managed to hop from one public transport to another, making their way towards Miyazaki Port where their fairy companions sensed the strongest presence.<p>

Under the cover of rain, they managed to sneak their way into the docks. This place is usually very busy on normal days where cargo ships came and went, unloading and picking up goods while docked. Due to the extreme weather, activity was much more subdued and the girls slowly made their way through the place undetected.

They made their way towards a row of blue-roofed warehouses when a figure appeared on top of the closest building.

"Welcome, Pretty Cure. I knew you would come."

"Windgeist! Are you the one causing this weather?" Yukiho was nearly shouting at the top of her lungs, as she could barely hear herself in this storm.

"Please stop this at once. You'll cause a disaster!" Arisa winced as she tried to see and hear through the near-blinding rain.

"Beautiful, isn't it? With just a bit of positive encouragement, an ordinary typhoon can be coerced into such a raging force of nature. Such splendid phenomena! Such amazing handiwork! Such-"

"What the heck are you blabbering on about?" Yukiho yelled.

"I can't hear a word you're saying!" Arisa cupped her hands around her mouth as she spoke, as if it would amplify her words any further.

"I said, it's beautiful! With just a bit of encouragement, an ordinary-"

Yukiho and Arisa simply stared blankly at the apostle while shaking their heads.

"I SAID-"

In the end, Windgeist gave up. Rather than try talking any further, he went straight to business by revealing his secret weapon. Cupped in the palm of his hand were not one, nor two, but three Heart Fragments! He was smiled proudly at his achievement.

Yukiho's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you get so many fragments?"

"_Horosho_!"

"With such power, I'll create the greatest Nazuuma, a befitting end to the both of you!" Of course, from Yukiho and Arisa's point of view, his mouth was just blabbering on and on, his voice lost in the deafening wind and rain.

The apostle raised his hand, allowing all three fragments to corrupt and turn black, and then possess a nearby inanimate object. This time, Windgeist picked the largest thing that he could see from his vantage point – a harbour crane.

"NAZUUMA!" it bellowed as the giant giraffe-like automaton began to move. Soon it was towering over the two girls, ready to trample them underneath its colossal feet. The wind and rain seemed to die down a little, as if part of the power sustaining the storm had transferred over to the Nazuuma.

"Quickly transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up-popo!"

Yukiho and Arisa nodded towards each other, and then held hands. "Dual star halation!"

Inside a blinding column of silver-white light, the two girls transformed into the legendary warriors Pretty Cure.

"Dashing forward, full of love and courage, Cure Brave!"

"Shining brightly with the light of hope and determination, Cure Star!"

"Servant of Chaos, return from whence you came!"

"NAZUUMA!" It lifted one of its four massive legs, towering menacingly over the girls. Brave and Star rolled aside as quickly as they could before the huge foot could come crashing down on them. Despite their initiative, they were still caught in the shockwave as the foot stomp threw large pieces of debris all around. Some of these managed to graze the Precures.

Brave ran up to one of the creature's legs and delivered a powerful punch. Her strike could have felled an ordinary Nazuuma, but this one didn't even falter a single inch, and it responded by kicking her away. She crashed into a nearby warehouse.

While the Nazuuma was preoccupied with Brave, Star ran up from one of its hind legs and landed on its back. She continued to run up the nape of its neck, and then leapt towards its face to deliver a strong roundhouse kick to its temple. Again, her attack didn't even put a dent in its metallic frame, and in response the Nazuuma shot a long hook and chain at her while she bounced off and was about to land. The chain wrapped around both her legs. It then proceeded to swing Star around, sending her crashing into several buildings before it released her.

Star was sent hurtling into the same warehouse where Brave crashed into. As Brave recovered and got to her feet, Star crashed into her and the two of them were sent sprawling into a pile of rubble.

"It looks like the end, Precures!" Windgeist laughed, proud of his achievement. "Nazuuma, finish them off!"

"NAZUUMA!" The creature cocked its head back, like a snake prepared to strike. Its baleful eyes began to glow brightly, gathering dark energies and focusing them into a powerful ball of destruction.

The Precures realized what was going to happen and struggled to their feet. Brave grasped Star's hand tightly.

"I sing the song of Courage!" Sparks of golden yellow light gathered in Brave's open hand.

"I sing the song of Hope!" Tiny specks of silver light was attracted to Star's hand.

"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!"

The Nazuma unleashed a dark beam of energy at the Precures just as the two girls fired off their own silver-gold blast of their own. The two energy beams met at midpoint, splashing against one another like two powerful jet streams trying to overwhelm each other.

"Aaargh!" The Precures pushed themselves as hard as they could, mustering as much energy as they could to reinforce their attack. The Nazuuma was also straining itself, pouring all its dark energies into its beam. It seems like both sides were at a stalemate.

"You cannot win, Precures!" Windgeist spread both arms wide open, gathering a large maelstrom of wind, rain and lightning in a globe and then hurling this deadly projectile at the two girls. Stuck in their deadlock with the Nazuuma, they are unable to dodge and bore the brunt of Windgeist's attack.

Without their full concentration, the Precure's attack faltered and the Nazuuma's dark energy beam overwhelmed the light. The ensuing explosion created a massive crater and nearly demolishing the warehouse the Precures were standing next to.

"Ha! It looks like it's over." Windgeist congratulated himself, proudly gazing upon the two sprawled forms of Brave and Star. But his celebration was short-lived.

Brave struggled to move. Star forced herself up to her knees.

"Why? Why don't you give up? Soon the storm will destroy everything, and there would be nothing left of you."

"Sis hasn't won Love Live yet." Brave managed to bring herself into a sitting position, staring at the apostle defiantly. "If you destroy everything, she wouldn't be able to achieve her dreams!"

"And I haven't joined µ's yet." It took Star all her strength and determination just to stand up. "I wouldn't be able to join them next year if we let this storm continue."

Star began humming a familiar tune. A tune that filled both their hearts with warmth and passion.

"Star…" Brave began, but then she stopped and smiled. She started humming the tune of "Start: Dash" along with Star, and they both turned to face their opponents once more.

"What is this? You have such petty concerns. No wonder you are so weak."

Brave paused at Windgeist's words, then stared sternly at him. "That's not weak at all! Each of us have something precious that we want to protect and cherish with all our hearts."

"And that makes us strong," Star continued. "The will and determination to keep going, to see our wish granted at the end!"

"That's why we cannot give up! Not now, and not ever!" The two of them spoke in unison. Brave managed to find Star's hand, and she held it tightly. Powered by sheer courage and determination, the two of them found renewed strength and energy as they stood together. Star finally realized the meaning of Nozomi's words about their strength being together, and continued to grasp Brave's hand tightly in return. They both felt a surge of energy course through their bodies, and quickly forgot about their injuries.

"You're just all talk!" Windgeist exclaimed, refusing to accept the words of the Precures. "Nazuuma, destroy them!"

"NAZUUMA!" It unleashed another dark blast at the Precures. They both defiantly stood their ground, and just as the beam was about to strike, it splashed harmlessly over a golden globe of energy that surrounded the Precures.

Brave and Star stared at each other with their mouths agape, amazed at this newfound power. Then, they nodded towards each other and dashed towards the Nazuuma, sidestepping the dark beam in the process.

The Nazuuma turned its head to redirect its attack towards Brave, who made a mighty leap towards Windgeist, her fist clenched to deliver a punch. The Nazuuma quickly cancelled its attack for fear of hitting its own master. Windgeist quickly leapt back and took flight before Brave could reach him.

Meanwhile, Star was charging to the right of the Nazuuma. It turned its attention on Star and swung its hook and chain towards her, hoping to catch her again. She was ready for it this time; with a quick twist and some athletic wrist work, she caught a hold of the chain and held fast. She began running around the Nazuuma in circles, ensnaring its four legs in a tight loop. Finally, with one strong tug, the noose tightened and the Nazuuma completely lost its balance.

As the Nazuuma came crashing down, Brave leapt off the warehouse roof and landed next to Star.

"Now's your chance-chichi!"

"Finish it off now-popo!"

The two girls nodded to each other and held each other's hands tightly.

"I sing the song of Courage!" Brave collected a torrent of golden sparkling energy.

"I sing the song of Hope!" Like a vacuum, Star brought a flood of sparking silver energy towards her.

"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!"

"NAZUUMA?!" The creature let out one final cry as it was engulfed in the brilliant, purifying light of the Precures. It then reverted back into its original form and three Heart Fragments fell at Star's feet.

As Star began to scoop the fragments into her hand, a furious Windgeist charged at them. "I'm not done yet!"

In a fit of rage, the Storm Apostle hurled what seemed like globes of heavily-compressed air and lightning at the two Precures. They quickly dodged each and every shot, and rightly so as the blasts were strong enough to smash the concrete ground to bits. He landed in front of them with a loud crunch, further damaging the ground.

"We'll see who has the last laugh!" Windgeist raised his right hand in the air, and in a blink of an eye, a bolt of lightning struck his outstretched hand. Sparks danced around his arm as he redirected the deadly electrical bolt at the Precures.

Brave and Star raised their hands forward to meet the bolt, and they were protected by a spherical field of golden energy.

"I've not even started yet!" The Storm Apostle raised his hand again, preparing to summon another bolt of lightning, but this time he fell to his knees. "What… what is happening?"

The apostle's figure began to flicker in and out, and as the Precures looked on, he finally vanished with a sudden gust of wind.

"What happened to him?" Brave cautiously inched towards the spot where the apostle disappeared.

"He used up all his power-chichi."

"He's returned to his original form-popo."

"So… that's it? We won?" Arisa knelt down to scoop up the three Heart Fragments. Cupping them in both hands, she briefly stared at them in admiration. "Three of them. _Horosho_!"

It was still raining, the wind was still howling and they heard distant thunder, but it all seemed more subdued now. Yukiho stared southwards, towards the island of Okinawa.

"Don't worry about your sister-chichi. Honoka and the others should be fine-chichi."

"With the Storm Apostle gone the typhoon will slowly dissipate on its own-popo."

* * *

><p>At the airport terminal, Yukiho and Arisa were both busy checking out the video channels while waiting for their flight.<p>

"Look Yukiho-chan, I found it!" Arisa was literally bouncing with joy at her discovery.

Yukiho scooted over and viewed the video that Arisa had found. "Oh, so it's just the six of them. Rin looks so cute in that wedding dress."

"Sis is so cool in that black suit."

The six members of µ's, Ayase Eri, Toujou Nozomi, Yazawa Nico, Hoshizora Rin, Koizumi Hanayo and Nishikino Maki had performed "Love Wing Bell" for a fashion event, and the video had finally made its way to the Internet. Despite three missing members, who were stuck in Okinawa due to the storm, the event was a great success.

"Look at all the _Likes_!" Yukiho exclaimed.

"I can't wait for next year to come," Arisa said with dreamy eyes. "Then we can finally join µ's!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>: And this wraps up the first story arc; next chapter is the Halloween episode, which I think I'll sideline because it's about time for the Precures to gain a power upgrade and introduce the next villain, so I'm thinking of a visit to the Windy Lands.

On a side note, I just started watching Happiness Charge Pretty Cure, and only noticed Precure Starlight Dash is named similar to Cure Fortune's finisher (and also Fortune's star theme). Anyway, just to say that it is just a coincidence as I have not watched Happiness Charge before I started writing this story. To be more specific, the dynamic between Brave and Star are based on the classic pairs (e.g. Black/White, or Bloom/Egret), not the modern super sentai-like teams.


	6. Calming the Storm

**Chapter 6: Calming the Storm**

It has been a typical day in the life of Pretty Cures Kousaka Yukiho and Ayase Arisa. By morning and midday they go to school and participate in extracurricular activities. By evening they search for Heart Fragments with the aid of their fairy companions Matcha and Paka, respectively. Life has more or less settled down to a routine ever since the defeat of the Storm Apostle, Windgeist.

"Halloween is coming. I wonder what everyone is doing this year?" Arisa thought out loud. The four of them were seated around the table in Yukiho's room, as always. The place has turned into their unofficial secret headquarters ever since the girls met their fairy companions and became the legendary warriors Pretty Cure.

"I remember sis mentioning something about another performance," Yukiho guessed while handing the Heart Fragment that they had found today over to Matcha. "I'm looking forward to see what they come up with."

"I'm sure it will be very exciting-chichi." Matcha didn't sound as enthusiastic as his words implied. He casually picked fragment out of Yukiho's hand and placed it in a crystalline jar along with the rest of the fragments have been collected so far.

"Is there anything wrong, Matcha?" Yukiho asked, noticing her fairy companion's odd behaviour.

"It's nothing-chichi."

Arisa's fairy companion, Paka, leaned over gave Matcha a good, lengthy look. "Are you feeling sad-popo?"

"Wh-what-chichi? Not at all-chichi!"

Now Matcha could feel the intense, but cute and smiling, faces of Yukiho and Arisa gazing directly at him. "Come on, you can tell us what's going on," Arisa encouraged.

"It-it's nothing really-chichi!" Matcha quickly hopped off the table and climbed into Yukiho's bed. "I'm just tired, that's all."

The girls decided not to press any further and spent the rest of the night making small talk and snacking on sweet things. Later that night, Yukiho noticed that her fairy companion was staring out the window for a good long while. He hadn't noticed her being awake, and she decided to close her eyes and go back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Matcha awoke to find that the others had already arrived in Yukiho's room and were in some sort of hushed conference. Paka was the first to notice Matcha and hopped over to the bed.<p>

"You're awake-popo!"

"Yes, I am-chichi!"

"Good morning-popo!"

"Yes, good morning-chichi!"

"Let's all go to the Windy Lands-popo!"

"Yes, let's all go to… wait, what-chichi?"

Matcha stared at the three of them in surprise while they giggled at his reaction. "Are you serious-chichi?"

"Of course we are," Yukiho replied. "We noticed you were a bit down recently, and Paka thought that perhaps you might be a little home sick."

"Besides, we've collected a lot of Heart Fragments already," Arisa said while gesturing to the crystalline jar of fragments on the table. "I also think it's about time to go and see what these can do."

Matcha stared at the two girls, then to the smiling and nodding face of Paka, and then back at the girls again. "But… but the Windy Lands has become a terrible place-chichi. The Storm Apostles have turned it into a dangerous land of storms and other horrible disasters-chichi."

"We're going to use the Heart Fragments to purify the land-popo."

"But we haven't collected enough-chichi."

"It's alright, Matcha." Yukiho had sauntered over and gave her fairy companion a gentle and reassuring pat on the head. "Paka explained it to us already. Even if we cannot fully restore the Windy Lands, we can at least calm down the storms and prevent them from causing further destruction to your beloved homeland."

"But it's dangerous-chichi. There could be Nazuumas, or maybe even other Storm Apostles there-chichi!"

"We made a promise, didn't we?" Arisa gently held Matcha's hand in her own. "We're the legendary warriors Pretty Cure, after all. The danger is already implied, and we promised to help you restore your home."

"Yukiho… Arisa… Paka… thank you so much-chichi!"

* * *

><p>The journey to the Windy Lands was unexpectedly plain and simple. Yukiho had imagined they would walk through some sort of magical portal, fall through a tunnel of magic and appear on the other side with some kind of magical-y puff or other. Instead, her world – or rather, her room – suddenly just changed as if someone switched the TV channel, and the four of them were suddenly standing in the middle of a torrential rain storm.<p>

The four of them were still holding each other's hands in a circle with the jar of Heart Fragments placed standing upright in the middle, but strong winds and bitingly cold rain made it difficult to maintain their formation. A crack of thunder and a bright flash of lightning startled the girls as they tried to maintain composure and gain their bearings.

"It's worse than I thought!" Yukiho had to yell at the top of her lungs to overcome the howling wind that dominated the landscape.

"Let's get to work right away!" Arisa yelled back.

"Focus on the fragments-chichi!"

"Pour all your love and your hopes and your dreams into them-popo!"

"Err… in other words, think happy thoughts?" Yukiho's eyes darted between Matcha and Paka alternately, looking for signs of confirmation from either one of them.

They both smiled and nodded. And so the purification of the Windy Lands began. The heart fragments began to glow brightly as they received all the positive thoughts and emotions from the girls, while the fairies harnessed this gathered power and focused their energies on their beloved homeland. It wasn't a very long process, but it was arduous and taxing and by the time they had finished their ritual, all four of them slumped onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Did it work?" Yukiho asked while lying on her back, staring straight up into the black swirling vortex that is the sky.

"The rain stopped," Arisa observed. After a moment of rest, she sat up and looked around. Yukiho soon followed suite.

For the first time, they could see the world that they were in clearly. Long, rolling plains of green grasslands surrounded them, broken up by distant mountain ranges that rose up to the clouds. Some parts of the sky were still dark with swirling vortexes maliciously hovering over great distances, but for the most part the skies were clear and beautiful orange light penetrated the dark clouds, bathing the land in warm brilliance.

"So this is the Windy Lands," Yukiho commented in awe.

A gentle breeze rolled up to the girls, blowing up their hair. Arisa let the cool and invigorating air dance around her. "_Horosho_!"

"Are there any other worlds like this?" Yukiho curiously asked.

"There are many worlds out there-chichi."

"Some are beautiful and filled with fairies and friendly people, like the Palmier Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sweets and the Blue Sky Kingdom-popo."

"But there are also malignant places like Dark Zone, Dark Fall, or Dark Maelstrom where the Storm Apostles come from-chichi."

"Why do the bad guys all come from a place with the word 'dark' in it?" Arisa wondered.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yukiho giggled teasingly at her friend.

A distant crack of thunder was heard, reminding them that the purification was not complete. They had to find and gather the last remaining Heart Fragments in order to truly restore Matcha and Paka's homeland to its original glory.

* * *

><p>"What do we have here?"<p>

The four of them were startled by the arrival of a stranger. Hovering in the air a short distance away was a woman with pale blue skin and dressed in long, flowing robes of blue and white. Her shoulder length hair was as white as snow.

"Who are you?" Yukiho called out, standing in front of the rest of the group.

"Be careful-chichi!"

"It's the ice mistress-popo!"

"Another Storm Apostle?" Arisa asked.

"You must be the legendary Pretty Cure that I have heard about." The ice mistress stared down the two girls with a hateful look. "If you're here to retake the Windy Lands, I will have to disappoint you. I won't be as easy-going as Windgeist."

As the ice mistress raised her hand and gathered a mini maelstrom of ice, the two fairies turned into their mobile phone form and leapt into the hands of their respective partners.

"Transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up-popo!"

Both Yukiho and Arisa stared at their fairy partners and hesitated. "You look… different," Yukiho commented.

"Paka, you too," Arisa exclaimed. The phone forms of both fairies had become sleeker, as if more modern and advanced. It was like comparing an old Motorola 8088 to a Razr, in terms of clamshell flip phone designs.

"Now's not the time-chichi!"

"Hurry up and transform-popo!"

Yukiho and Arisa looked at each other and nodded. "Dual star halation!"

Engulfed in a ball of golden-silver light, the two girls transformed into Pretty Cure within.

"The everlasting light of love and courage, Cure Valiant!" Yukiho emerged from the magical glow sporting an upgraded form. Supplementing her black and pink dress was a gold jacket with a large red ribbon on her chest. She wore a pair of golden bracers with a large, heart-shaped ruby jewel on each hand.

"The unmoving shield of hope and determination, Cure Starlight!" Arisa wore a magnificent white and blue blazer, and she had a longer dress with blue flowery trims. She wore a silver headband with a diamond-shaped turquoise jewel on her forehead.

"We've changed…" Yukiho commented as the two of them admired their new forms.

"Precure!" the ice mistress screamed as she unleashed a vortex of sleet and hail at the girls. They quickly dodged aside as the chilling blast froze the ground, leaving behind a trail of sharp ice in its wake.

"I'm not done yet!" This time the Storm Apostle conjured up a terrifying array of razor sharp ice shards in a field behind her, all hovering and awaiting her order to strike. Then, with a wave of her hand, the frozen stilettos accelerated forward.

"Precure starlight shield!"

Starlight interposed herself between Valiant and the deadly area attack, conjuring a tower of silver energy before her. The storm of razor sharp projectiles shattered upon striking the shield like rain drops on an umbrella.

"Precure valiant dash!"

In a blur of movement that could be barely registered by the naked eye, Valiant blinked right beside the ice mistress and delivered a roundhouse kick. Her opponent attempted to parry, but Valiant moved too quickly and her strike sent the ice mistress flying a good distance away.

"Now's your chance-chichi!"

"Finish her now-popo!"

The girls held hands as the ice mistress recovered from Valiant's blow. Seeing what was about to come, she prepared to unleash an attack of her own to counter the Precure's finisher.

"I sing the songs of the Courageous and of Unyielding Bravery!" Valiant held out her open hand, gathering a massive amount of golden energy that danced and spiralled around her.

"I sing the songs of Resolve, and of the pillars of Hope!" Starlight raised her open hand, pulling a flood of silver particles into her outstretched palm.

Together, they spoke. "As one, overflowing with the radiance of our light… PRECURE SUPERNOVA DASH!"

A massive flood of both gold and silver particles rushed towards the ice mistress, spiralling around each other like a corkscrew. The ice mistress responded with a dark energy blast of her own. The dark purple wave of energy collided with the Precure's attack, splashing against each other in a magical tug-of-war as both sides poured all their strength and energies into their respective attacks.

It didn't take long before the Precures began to edge out a win. Their attack slowly gained ground as they continued pouring their energies into the beam.

"Impossible… how… can you be… so strong?"

"We have the hopes and dreams of Matcha and Paka and all their fairy folk on our side," Valiant answered.

"They are all counting on us, so we _cannot_ lose to you!" Arisa replied.

As the Precures' attack continued to gain more ground, the ice mistress relented. "You win today, but I'll be back and next time, you'll be the ones to regret this!" With that exchange, she disappeared, leaving the Precure's blast to strike out at thin air.

* * *

><p>The girls and their fairy companions spent a bit more time enjoying the scenery before deciding to return home. Matcha and Paka were a little reluctant to leave, this being their home after all, but they still had a job to do.<p>

"We'll find the remaining Heart Fragments, and then we can fully restore your home," Yukiho said encouragingly.

Arisa patted the head of her fairy companion reassuringly. "You can count on us, so please believe in us."

The two fairies nodded happily and then returned everyone to Yukiho's room.

"Oh, look at the time," Yukiho commented.

Arisa hurriedly checked the calendar. "Tomorrow's Halloween. I can't wait to see what µ's is doing."

"Me too!" Yukiho replied enthusiastically.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: As this chapter occurs during the Halloween episode, readers may be curious as to why the scene where Yukiho discovers a certain important "letter" was omitted from the story. The answer is simple. In the show, it's a setup for the next episode. Here, on the other hand, there's no point in making it a cliffhanger that shall be resolved later. I might as well just handle the whole thing in the next chapter altogether.


	7. Diet Games

**Chapter 7: Diet Games**

Halloween was over in the blink of an eye, but for Kousaka Yukiho and Ayase Arisa, it was a relatively memorable night as they enjoyed double performances from their favourite school idol groups, A-RISE and µ's. After their almost daily meeting at Yukiho's room, where they had watched the aforementioned Halloween performances, they decided to call it a night.

The following day, Yukiho found herself alone after school. Arisa had some school-related matters to attend to, so they would only meet later in the evening. Feeling bored, and still having some Halloween spirit left in her, she decided to grab a hold of the next volume of _Doki Doki Halloween_ for her reading pleasure.

Making her way into her sister's room to find the book, she ended up being dismayed at her sister's lack of bookshelf organization skills. Books were not arranged in proper order, with the odd title intermingling with books of a different set. She sighed and muttered under her breath, "I can't believe sis is the student council president."

So she decided to spend her time reorganizing her sister's bookshelf. It was during this time that she came across a curious letter that was left carelessly on the floor. She picked it up and put it back on the table, then sighed again. "I'm going to give her an earful when she gets home today."

She was about to get back to the task of reorganizing when curiosity took hold. Acting on impulse, she opened her sister's letter, and her jaw dropped in shock.

"What is it-chichi?"

She had nearly forgotten that Matcha was by her side all the time, in the form of a little mobile phone dangling from her waist. "Oh… it's… nothing important. Well, nothing to do with us anyway. I just have the sudden urge to strangle a certain sister of mine, that's all."

Much later that day, Arisa and Paka dropped by so Yukiho decided to put aside the issue of the letter for the time being.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Kousaka Honoka was as chipper as her usual self as she greeted Yukiho and her mother. "Good morning!"<p>

Yukiho was with their mother, who was in the middle of reading a certain familiar letter when Honoka greeted them. "Oh, that has my latest body measurements," Honoka casually mentioned when she noticed the letter. "Where did you find it? I lost it after opening the envelope."

"So you still don't know?" her mother asked, handing the letter over to her daughter.

"Well, my height is alright," Honoka began as her eyes scanned all the relevant fields. "My weight…" Her voice trailed and her jaw dropped as the realization set in.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Yukiho asked.

Before her sister could answer, a new visitor came in and announced herself. "Good morning. What is Honoka going to do about what?"

"Oh hello Umi… how nice of you to drop by today… this wonderful morning… going to school together…" Honoka wasn't good at keeping a straight face, especially after a certain revelation about her body weight, and it showed.

"Something I should be knowing about, Honoka?" Umi had _that kind of look_ on her face. It's the kind that made Yukiho and her mother silently agree with each other to not interfere, but also knowing that the case would be in good hands.

* * *

><p>"So Honoka is having some weight issues. That is so like her." Arisa resisted the urge to giggle in front of Yukiho while they snacked on sweet things. Food that Honoka would be forbidden to touch for the next whole week, at the very least.<p>

"I wonder what Umi-san has planned for sis. Knowing her, it would probably be some kind of strict training and dieting regimen." Yukiho took another bite into her delicious steamed bun, totally acknowledging the irony of this.

The girls continued with small talk for a short while before getting down to business. Heart fragments have become increasingly rare and hard to find, which is understandable considering that they have amassed a fairly large collection and what left out there must be statistically more difficult to come by. The bigger issue though, is the fact that another Storm Apostle is at large, and also very likely to be searching for the remaining fragments. It also doesn't help that the girls aren't searching full time as they have school and other responsibilities to manage

"Is there any way that you could improve your fragment-detecting abilities?" Yukiho asked.

"We're already doing the best we can-chichi," Matcha replied.

"It's just that the fewer fragments there are, the harder it is to trace-popo."

Arisa sighed. "I guess we'll just have to keep going at it until we find them all."

"Yukiho!" The suspiciously cheerful voice of Honoka startled everyone, and the two fairies quickly transformed into their respective mobile phone forms in a puff of magical smoke just as the door to Yukiho's room slid open.

Yukiho eyes narrowed. Given the circumstances, she knew exactly what brought about this untimely visit. "Here to steal our snacks, sis?"

Honoka pouted. "That's so mean!"

"But I am right, aren't I?" Yukiho smirked, while Arisa giggled at the both of them.

"Awww… you're no fun!" Honoka was already eyeing the delicious steamed buns laid out seductively on the table. "I just wanted a little bite."

"Sorry sis, but a diet is a diet." Yukiho snickered. "We wouldn't want to incur the _Wrath of Umi_ now, would we?"

That was enough of a deterrent for Honoka. With her out of the picture, the fairies reassumed their natural forms and the four of them continued their discussion for a short while before it was time to call it a day.

* * *

><p>"Mmm… this is a great place you've found!" A well-cooked bowl of rice, served with the appropriate side dishes, was all that a girl like Yukiho could ever ask for. "I bet sis is craving for something like this right now."<p>

"I know right," Arisa replied.

It was another day after school, and they were in a restaurant that Arisa happened to chance upon earlier. The GoHAN-YA specialized in rice, and indeed their dishes did not disappoint. Even the in-house music was rice-themed, sung by some girl group delivering the message of rice as a side dish.

They were about to pay and leave when Yukiho nearly jumped at the sight of two patrons in pink track suits entering the establishment. She hurriedly motioned Arisa to duck out of sight as her sister, Honoka and another member of µ's, Koizumi Hanayo, walked past their table and sat at the one behind them.

"What's sis doing here?" Yukiho whispered, an irritated look forming on her face. "She's supposed to be on a diet."

"Apparently not," Arisa replied as she observed the pair enthusiastically ordering individual bowls of rice meals. "What do we do?"

"That Honoka… I'm gonna teach her a-"

"Be careful-chichi!"

Yukiho and Arisa nearly jumped. "Shh," Yukiho cautioned her fairy companion, scanning the establishment to make sure that nobody had noticed. Trying to explain a sentient, talking mobile phone to a bunch of strangers would certainly be quite a moment indeed, and not in any good way at all.

"What is it?" Arisa asked.

"I feel an evil presence-popo!" Paka whispered back.

As if on cue, they both felt a cold breeze whiff past them. "What do we do?" Arisa asked, absentmindedly shifting her feet about.

"We can't do anything here, not with so many people involved," Yukiho observed. "We'll need to sneak out without Honoka or Hanayo noticing us."

While still keeping her face hidden from the two members of µ's, Arisa sheepishly raised her hand, hoping to attract the attention of their waiter. Thankfully luck was on her side; she was noticed and they managed to stealthily pay for their meal. With that business out of the way, the two of them surreptitiously got up and made their way out of the store. Yukiho only threw a quick but cautious glance back to check on her sister; the two of them were too happily engaged in their meals to notice.

* * *

><p>"Which way?" Yukiho anxiously glanced to the left and right of the street, hoping to spot anything out of the ordinary, but was disappointed to not find any.<p>

"Give us a moment-chichi."

Arisa rubbed both of her arms with her hands. "It feels colder than usual."

"Must be that ice lady's handiwork," Yukiho said, her gaze still skimming from one spot to another.

"This way-popo!"

Arisa sprinted in the direction that her fairy partner had indicated, and Yukiho followed closely behind. They ran down a few short streets, followed several back alleys and wandered into an unfamiliar and sparsely populated part of town.

"Ah, you finally show yourselves, Precures." The ice queen, attired in the same fashion as when they first met, hovered a few feet over the street. Her right hand was raised to her eye level, a glowing pink Heart Fragment lazily orbiting over the open palm of her hand.

"She's got a fragment-chichi!"

"Be careful-popo!"

Yukiho sighed. "You know, if it's going to be like this, we might as well let her find all the fragments and then beat the crap out of her when she comes and gloats."

"I could almost agree," Arisa replied, her eyes still locked on her opponent.

"Being overconfident now, are we?" The ice queen studied her two opponents carefully. "Let's see how well you deal with this. Nazuuma, come!"

Just like all the other times, dark energies began surrounding the heart fragment, as if suffocating the light. The darkness then leapt into whatever random object that the ice queen fancied. This time, it was a seemingly innocuous fire hydrant by the side of the road. The thing grew into ridiculous proportions, and soon the girls had a giant biped fire hydrant to deal with.

"Quickly transform-chichi!"

"Hurry up-popo!"

Holding hands, the girls went through the motions. "Dual star halation!"

From within the ensuing bright and glowing ball of light, two Precures emerged.

"The everlasting light of love and courage, Cure Valiant!"

"The unmoving shield of hope and determination, Cure Starlight!"

Standing tall together, they uttered their decree to the Storm Apostle. "Servant of Chaos, return from whence you came!"

"Nazuuma!" The oversized hydrant fired a jet of water at the Precures. Starlight moved to position herself in front of Valiant and raised both arms to repel the attack.

"Precure starlight shield!"

The jet spray crashed onto the magical barrier, scattering water all around the street. The Nazuuma continued to press its attack, but Starlight's barrier held fast. However, both girls soon realized that the water was turning to ice, and as more of it collected in front of them, the ice began to form around their sides and then surround them both. Soon, they found themselves trapped inside a rock of solid ice.

A smirk formed on the ice queen's lips as she watched the battle unfold. She raised her hand and began conjuring multiple shards of razor sharp ice.

The ad hoc prison shattered to Valiant's powerful punch, scattering fragments of ice everywhere. "I've got you now!" The ice queen sent forth her volley of deadly projectiles, taking both Precures by surprise. They tried to use their arms to shield their face from the attack, but sustained multiple lacerations all over.

"Is that all you've got?" The ice queen prepared another volley while the giant Nazuuma towered behind her. "I am disappointed. I had hoped to see more." By this time, her second volley of ice fragments have already solidified and was ready to be launched. "Oh well, it's all the same to me. Goodbye."

As the frozen stilettos raced towards the Precures, Valiant grabbed Starlight's hand.

"Precure valiant dash!"

In a blur of movement, the two of them blinked forward. The deadly projectiles collided with the now-empty asphalt behind them both. With their hands still locked in a firm grip, Valiant and Starlight reached out with their free hands and called for the light. _Their_ light.

"I sing the songs of the Courageous and of Unyielding Bravery!" Valiant's light was gold and warm, sparkling boldly like the sun.

"I sing the songs of Resolve, and of the pillars of Hope!" Starlight's was silver and glittery, enchanting like the moon and the stars.

"As one, overflowing with the radiance of our light… PRECURE SUPERNOVA DASH!"

The ice queen barely teleported away in time. The spiralling beam of gold and silver shot past her disappearing silhouette and struck at the stupendous form of the Nazuuma, engulfing it in the magical light of the Precures.

Starlight caught the heart fragment before it touched the ground.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Yukiho and Arisa were crouched behind some convenient obstacle just outside GoHAN-YA, ready to pounce on Honoka and Hanayo the moment they exited the building. It was a surefire plan, or at least that's what Yukiho had thought, until she caught sight of Sonoda Umi approaching the building. Umi began to wait outside, looking like quite the suspicious individual indeed.<p>

"It looks like someone else is beating us to the ambush," Yukiho said.

Arisa covered her mouth, resisting the urge to giggle. "I guess we should gracefully back off and let the _Wrath of Umi_ run its natural course."

Now it was Yukiho's turn to try very hard to stifle a laugh. "Let's go home, Arisa-chan. It looks like sis will be in good hands."


End file.
